


A Pair of Lonely Dreamers

by epsilonAbsol, OneBecomesTwo



Series: The Ravioverse [8]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, LinkedUniverse - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Genre: Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Ravioverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:27:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23182453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epsilonAbsol/pseuds/epsilonAbsol, https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneBecomesTwo/pseuds/OneBecomesTwo
Summary: Sometimes, experiences aren't as unique as you think they are.
Relationships: Link & Ravio (Legend of Zelda)
Series: The Ravioverse [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1404166
Comments: 9
Kudos: 60





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday Ravioverse! We didn't start posting publicly today, but it's the day Velia and I actually started talking about the boys and thinking up all the parallel histories to go with each of the games! And boy howdy have we made a lot lmao. Here's to another year of talking about delightful purple boys!
> 
> If you're new here or haven't read the narrative of Sketch's first adventure, you can find it [here!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20706443/chapters/52110973) Context will help the rest of the story make sense lol. This one's been in the works for a while, but how better to celebrate one year than to return to the original Son Boy, right?
> 
> Also! Since this is from Sketch's perspective, and even if he's surrounded by people who share his name, he's still going to call HIMSELF Ravio. Same goes for the Link he knew, as far as he's concerned, he's Link and everybody else can go by something else. Just to make that clear! Any time you see Link, it means Legend, and Ravio, it means Sketch!
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

If there was one thing Ravio had figured out about Hyrule, it was that there wasn’t a whole lot of business there. He’d gone to all the trouble to put up signs pointing to where his shop was, and he’d still only gotten a couple of customers to come by - one of whom was the guy who actually _lived_ in the place. It was still weird looking at him and seeing a differently colored reflection of himself, but hey, at least Link had actually _gotten_ to Lorule. Ravio didn’t know what had happened to that narcissist who had rented the Sand Rod, but he at least knew that Sheerow hadn’t been able to get it back yet, so _something_ was up there.

The lack of traffic in the shop, however, was exactly what made it so startling when there was a dull, heavy _thud_ against the door. As Ravio himself jolted at the sound, Sheerow flew up from his perch and started flitting around his head, screeching like a siren in his ears. For a split second, he was primed to run if Yuga came through that door, but the sight of Link opening it made him breathe a sigh of relief.

“Welcome back, Mr. Her- oh.” The chipper greeting fell flat as Ravio noticed the way Link was leaning heavily on the doorknob and bracing himself against the door. A step closer revealed that Link looked pale, unnaturally so - sickly even, judging by how strands of hair seemed to cling to his forehead from all the sweat, and how each breath he heaved seemed to be a labor in and of itself.

“Eesh. You look terrible. Everything okay, buddy?”

He was pretty sure Link wasn’t really seeing him, since his eyes looked unfocused and glassy as he mumbled, “I don’t remember you in Animal Village.”

Ravio’s brows knit together, but barely a second later he noticed the door starting to slowly swing further open and Link falling forward. He just managed to catch him before he face-planted on the floor, and he grunted, “Okay. Definitely not okay.” 

Maneuvering to turn around while helping Link stay on his own feet was harder than it should’ve been, particularly because he still had to be careful to keep his hood far enough down that his face wouldn’t be seen. Link may seem delirious, but that didn't mean he could risk him seeing and possibly remembering it later. Provided there _was_ a later. The way he was acting, that didn’t seem like a guarantee. “Come on. You’re no use to anybody if you’re dying.”

He managed to get Link to his bed, where he seemed to fall asleep the second he was horizontal. After he was sure he was out, Ravio looked to Sheerow and mused, “Wonder what happened to _him._ Think he just got back from..?”

The bird chirped in response.

“Yeah. Probably,” the merchant sighed, casting a glance back to the bed. “What could’ve gotten him like _that_ though? He can’t have been there longer than a day or two.”

Sheerow only chirped again.

Ravio laughed, “That’s ridiculous. Hylians can’t be _that_ fragile.”

Of course, over the next few hours, Ravio would realize that Hylians were _exactly_ that fragile. He hadn’t planned to spend the day tending to a violently ill hero, but that was how it turned out. Link was in and out of restless sleep and whenever he was awake he was babbling unintelligibly about _something._ Ravio stopped trying to figure out what he was saying pretty quickly and mostly tuned him out until he heard him getting sick again.

The first time even a hint of lucidity returned to the hero was in the evening, when Ravio was stirring a pot of soup and lamenting the absence of all the Lorulean ingredients that he couldn’t access anymore. He would’ve been talking to either himself or Sheerow, but had opted to just hum quietly to avoid bothering the man who may as well have been dying. He’d been at it for only a few minutes when a hoarse voice - like he hadn’t had a drink in _days_ \- nearly made him jump out of his skin.

“Marin?”

Ravio’s brows furrowed as he turned to face Link’s direction, not sure what that meant, but it was the closest thing to a real word he’d heard from him all day. When he repeated it and started moving like he was trying to get up, it finally clicked that it was a _name_ and that Link was _looking_ for someone; and whoever this ‘Marin’ was, Link was about to fall over himself trying to find them, undoubtedly hurting himself in the process. 

“Hey, whoa, hold your horses there, buddy,” Ravio said, stopping him from toppling into a heap as he tried to drag his way out of bed. “Marin’s not here right now, but you’re in no shape to be going anywhere but to sleep.”

_“Fuck_ sleep,” Link spat with unexpected intensity, making Ravio cringe back from the force of his glare– but it was like all the energy left him after that one outburst. His shoulders slumped and his gaze dropped to his lap as he muttered, “Sleeping doesn’t bring her back. Island’s gone. Forever.”

For a few seconds, Ravio didn’t quite know how to respond. He wracked his brain for an answer, only to eventually come out lamely with, "Sorry to hear that." Link wasn't making much sense right now - which was to be expected; it didn't take a genius to realize how sick he was - but he got the uncomfortable feeling that the hero was _absolutely_ making sense in a way that most wouldn’t think. Memories of an idyllic forest and kind people sprang to mind; the echo of a bittersweet goodbye reminding him of a long, yet still too-short sleep and leaves in his hair. Ravio wasn't about to jump to any conclusions yet, but it would be far too ironic if the guy who was basically his double went somewhere similar to where _he_ had gone.

Link looked so miserable thinking about _whatever_ was on his mind though - of course Ravio was sure how he was feeling physically wasn’t helping - that he _wanted_ to say something comforting, but what was he supposed to say? All he could think of were assurances that he understood, but that was something that would _absolutely_ give away his identity and he couldn’t risk that - no matter _how_ out of it the hero was. He had to keep his secrets close, keep his mouth shut, and get Link back on his feet as quickly as possible, or else Yuga and Hilda would get their way even faster. So instead, Ravio opted to get off the subject entirely, filling a bowl with food before passing it to him and saying, “You can tell me more about Marin and her island once you’re better, yeah? Now, you’ve been spewing your guts all day, so get this bland-as-sawdust soup in you and I’ll just pray you keep it down, alright?”

By some grace of the goddesses, Link seemed better by the next morning. He didn’t seem to remember anything about the night before, especially since he seemed confused about where he even _was_ before he spotted Ravio himself. There was no mention of ‘Marin' again, neither by Link nor Ravio; he’d learned the hard way months ago that Mr. Hero really wasn’t the type to just volunteer information when asked.

Instead, Ravio merely gave him a small sackful of various dried fruits and nuts that he’d gotten from some shopkeeper in the town to the west. Link looked at it suspiciously, then at Ravio, and asked, “And how much is _this_ going to cost me?”

With a wave of his hand, Ravio said, “Free of charge, so long as you swear to not eat any more strange plants in that _other world_ you keep going to. Not having a repeat of yesterday will be payment enough.”


	2. Chapter 2

Traveling with the group was strange; Ravio was _still_ getting used to being one of six people with the same name, not to mention the fact that the others came from all different time periods. Sure, he knew that Link was running around with his group of doppelgangers, but he was a _hero._ Even Yuga had known that there was always some hero in Hyrule who protected the Triforce, so it made sense that he had people who came before him; but how was _he_ supposed to know that there were previous _Ravios?_

When he'd first met them, they'd _all_ freaked him out pretty bad, but Viola had been the one to spook him the most. Empyrean might've been the more intense of the two and Battler might've been _huge,_ but looking at Viola brought back memories of running through a crumbling ruin with dark arrows flying past him any time the path straightened. It didn't matter that Viola didn't even _have_ a bow; his face was identical to that of the shadowy figure that had chased him and it made Ravio want to avoid him despite agreeing to join their group.

Of course, that slightly changed once they recruited Space. Not only did he want to avoid Viola, but he wanted to be _as far_ from their newest recruit as physically possible.

The atmosphere of the group after they returned to Hyrule from Termina was… uncomfortable. Not only did they have one more in _their_ number, but by whatever chance, Link and his group were in that era as well, and they’d decided to join them for the night before the Ravios went searching for a new time-portal. They were all curious about Space - who mostly just gave one-worded answers and glared tiredly out from behind his mask - while Viola sat next to him, seemingly trying to help keep the attention off of his brother. It was like it didn’t matter that there were at least fifteen other people scattered around the campfire, chatting amongst themselves; the mystery that was Space and his standoffish attitude brought the _whole_ mood down with him.

It wasn’t completely silent, but the volume was in just the right range that the ambient chatter grated on Ravio’s nerves, yet didn’t quite distract him from his thoughts. The details that he noticed the first time he saw Space kept running through his head, and they lined up a bit _too_ well with some from his best-kept secret– the bow, his resemblance to Viola, and the fact that he was from some era before his own all pointed to one thing:

The Great Leima Stag had said that it had wronged its charge a long time ago and that, to him, Ravio was reminiscent of the same person. It wasn’t exactly difficult to put together the fact that the Stag’s charge was _probably_ Space, nor was it difficult to realize that one of the Leima Stag’s nightmares had been a dark, unfeeling, younger version of him; and though Ravio knew that Space wasn’t a nightmare and wouldn’t likely attack him the way that the shadow did in the Earth God’s Sanctuary, he couldn’t help being jumpy anytime he heard him speak.

Ravio had thought that he was pretty good at hiding what he was feeling, but apparently not good _enough._ He’d spoken with Link for a while when the two groups had first joined up, but had since lapsed into silence. It wouldn’t have been that strange, if not for the fact that Ravio noticed him glaring daggers at Space the longer they sat there. Of course, he _also_ noticed Viola returning it with a vengeance and Space’s single, visible eye staring flatly at his brother. The tension between the three of them felt as suffocating as Ravio’s own stress, which it _certainly_ didn’t help.

He wasn’t sure exactly how long their wordless stand-off lasted, but it was long enough that the fire had begun to burn itself out. He wasn’t paying close enough attention to know who had spoken, but something was said about getting more firewood, and just next to him Link rose to his feet and said, “I’ll handle it.” A sudden tap on his shoulder startled Ravio badly enough that he cringed away from it, but when he looked up, Link just nodded in the direction of the trees. “Come on. You’re helping me.”

Ravio followed him, glad for at least _some_ excuse to leave the torturously uncomfortable atmosphere behind, but something about Link’s expression failed to put him at ease. He had to know that something was bothering him and that it had something to do with the newest member of the group, and Ravio highly doubted that they were going to get back to the campfire without the topic being brought up.

Sure enough, once they were well out of sight of the campfire, Link stopped and turned to him, fixing Ravio with a stare that felt like it was cutting straight through him. 

“Okay, what’s wrong with you? You’re even jumpier than usual.” Link’s eyes drifted to some point over Ravio's shoulder - in the direction of the group, he noted - and his expression grew suspicious and stern as he asked, “Did that guy do something?”

“No! No, he didn’t do anything, definitely not,” Ravio answered, perhaps a bit too hastily. It was far, _far_ too easy to imagine Link storming back into camp and picking a fight with Space if Ravio asked him to; he could hear the unspoken offer in the question, but _then_ came the certainty that picking a fight with Space would also be picking a fight with Viola. He could only assume that Link’s friends would back him up, and then _everyone_ could be dragged into the ensuing brawl. While Ravio could appreciate the sentiment, the last thing he wanted was to be responsible for something like _that._ “It’s uh… something else. Completely unrelated to him. Well- _mostly_ unrelated. It’s complicated.”

Link looked skeptical, eyeing how Ravio was fiddling with the ends of his scarf and avoiding direct eye-contact, but all he said was, “Uh-huh. Okay then.” It seemed like he was going to let the subject drop with just that answer, instead starting to move as if to start actually gathering firewood like he’d said they would. The only problem was that Ravio _wasn’t_ satisfied with that answer. He could see in his mind’s eye that absolutely nothing would change and Link would just keep glaring at Space until Viola’s temper finally flared up and caused a whole scene. It _would_ happen if he didn’t come clean, he was _certain_ of it.

Of course, the Lucedine Glade wasn’t exactly something he’d ever _told_ anyone about. He was almost positive that Link would understand if he told him the story, nearly certain that he had had a similar experience with some island that was once mentioned by accident when the hero had been _extremely_ delirious. Link probably didn’t even remember that entire day, let alone that conversation. Either way, it didn’t change the fact that even if Link _would_ believe him and understand what he was talking about, Ravio still would have to _tell him._

He must have been chewing on his lip and wrapping his fist ever more tightly in his scarf for a full minute before finally breaking the silence again. “I can tell you what it’s about, it’s just–” he laughed nervously, trying his best to relax but failing miserably. “It’ll be a long one, buddy. You might wanna sit down.”

Link gave him a curious glance and straightened up, but his only response was a silent gesture to go on. If he hadn’t been so apprehensive about actually talking about the Glade out loud, he might’ve reminded him about his impressive ability to talk beyond anyone's capacity to listen, but instead, he simply started - for better or for worse.

Ravio began at the beginning, telling Link about waking up in Murina’s house and learning about the Earth God and the overgrown, sealed-off sanctuary in which it was supposed to sleep. He described each and every one of the places that he'd gone in the glade: the Burrow Mines, the Cat's Windmill, the Cranberry Bog, the Giant’s Forge, and the Mirror Shrine– he went on tangent after tangent about all the obstacles that he found in each, like a manticore and a giant alligator; but it wasn't until he got to his description of the Harpies' Nest that he started noticing Link's stare in full force again. Ravio could practically hear him telling him to get to the point, but the stream of consciousness that was his narrative couldn't be stopped.

Despite the palpable impatience that Ravio could feel emanating from Link, it was obvious that he was paying close attention to what he was saying. There was some clear skepticism in his expression - probably about the monsters, which Ravio couldn't blame him for; he had taken pains to never have to deal with anything like those nightmares again - but he was _listening_. The reminder that he was talking about the Glade and someone aside from him would know about it now was terrifying, but he'd gotten this far, so he may as well keep going. 

He described the Harpies' Nest in much the same way as the other places, but eventually concluded, “Anyway, after I got past the Harpy and got the keystone that was up in the sky, I got to see the entire Glade from above - which is some _weird_ stuff, lemme tell ya. Have you ever seen dead trees go on forever, all surrounding this one _tiny_ patch of green? I mean, I’m sure it's probably kinda similar seeing water go on forever, but you kinda expect that on an island, right? ‘Course, I wouldn’t know, I’ve never been to an island before, but it’s still weird when-”

Ravio cut himself off, noticing Link's now-stiff posture and his saucer-wide eyes, like he’d just gotten the shock of his life. He had to mentally replay what he’d just said to figure out what might’ve gotten _that_ response, and realized that he’d just mentioned the very thing that he probably shouldn’t have. He’d learned pretty quickly into their acquaintanceship not to ask too many questions; the one time he had, Link had gotten _pretty_ testy, and Ravio would prefer to at least be able to finish the story before Link tore him a new one for asking the wrong things. Though, it would be hard to finish if Link kept looking like he was stuck in his own head the way he did. To try to pull him out of it, Ravio tentatively asked, “Buddy? You okay?”

Link shook his head like he was chasing off some thought, then looked back at Ravio, still obviously startled and uncomfortable yet trying to pretend otherwise. “Fine,” he said shortly, then stiffly gestured for him to continue. 

It was different from then: not only was he paying attention, but Ravio could see the wheels in Link’s head turning as he started _really_ putting together what he meant with the whole story. Before he even started talking about his experience in the Earth God’s Sanctuary, he seemed like he’d gotten it figured out. He still looked shell-shocked the entire time, but when he finally told him about the Leima Stag’s death, he at the very least looked sympathetic.

“And, uh,” he concluded, Ravio’s tone stilted and awkward as his nerves returned, because of _course_ they did now that he’d finished revealing the _entire_ story that he’d been keeping to himself for so many years. “Then I woke up. Back in Lorule. Still the same disaster area it was when you were there.” His hands began fiddling with his scarf again, eyes darting to and from Link as he waited for _some_ sort of response. His silence only made the weight of his eyes on him _worse,_ and for the first time in a decent while, Ravio felt the urge to pull his hood back over his head. He felt terribly, _horribly_ exposed, and exposed meant _vulnerable._ He _desperately_ wanted that illusion of a barrier back.

After what felt like an eternity, Link sighed, aggrievedly rubbing his hands over his face and through his hair before sitting down on a fallen log. The hand that had inched its way the edge of Ravio’s hood froze in its tracks, instead tightening around the wrapped portion of the scarf, and it was Ravio’s turn to stare wide-eyed at Link. 

“I get it.”

Ravio let out the breath he hadn’t entirely realized he’d been holding, and his voice shook about as much as his knees as he said, “Had a feeling you would.”

Link raised a questioning eyebrow at him, but the rest of his expression made Ravio decide that it was probably a good idea to shut his mouth and sit down. With neither of them speaking, the only sound was the wind in the leaves, which wore on his nerves just as badly as the campground chatter. Ravio was half-tempted to start talking again just to break the silence, but Link beat him to it, staring at the ground in front of him as he spoke.

"It was called Koholint Island," he whispered. "Everything about it felt real– the experiences, the places... the people. If you were there, you'd never know the difference. I didn't." Link fell quiet again here, his head bowed with his eyes distant, and for a moment Ravio wondered if that was all the explanation he was going to get; but then another beat passed, and Link was talking again.

"They told me the only way off was by waking the Wind Fish, but it would mean destroying the island and everyone living in it too. You can probably guess what I did."

Ravio just nodded in understanding. “You talked a _little_ about it once. Nothing much really, you were sick, so it makes sense, but uh. You mentioned a person? A girl, I think?”

Whether it was the lack of judgment in his tone or just the fact that they were both spilling some of their most closely guarded secrets, Link just closed his eyes and sighed, “Marin. She was one of the islanders.” He opened his eyes again and glared bitterly at the dirt. “And she’s gone, same as the rest of them.”

Ravio could only watch for a moment, trying to figure out his own response to that, but all he could say was, “I’m sorry.”

Link took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Whatever. It’s done now. Not much I can do to change it.”

Murina’s smiling face as she welcomed Ravio into her home flashed into his mind, and the sound of her telling him to follow his instincts as she hugged him goodbye. His voice finally failed him, and he just offered a mute nod.

Silence stretched between them once again, but this time it didn’t feel awkward like it had after Ravio had finished his story. This time, it felt like sharing a moment of remembrance for dearly departed friends and the memories made with them.

A moment later, Ravio's thoughts drifted back to the present and the reason they were talking about dream worlds in the first place. "So anyway," he began, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "You wanted to know why I was so bothered by Space, right? It's… not too exciting, now that I'm thinking about it."

"Try me."

"He just… He looks like one of the nightmares. I mean, he's never taken off his mask, so I've never seen his face, but I sure have seen _Viola's_ and they're identical in pretty much every other way. I used to think he was who the nightmare was based on, but then we found Space and he uses a _bow_. The nightmare _shot_ at me. It's not exactly hard to put together that he _has_ to be who the basis of it was. Especially now that I think about how the Leima Stag said I reminded him of someone he'd wronged in the past and now I know _I've_ got a bunch of other people freakily similar to me running around-"

"Because _that's_ something new."

Ravio shot Link an irritated look, but he just returned it with a flat expression that _almost_ felt like it was challenging him to continue that sentence. A few seconds of simply staring later, Ravio concluded, "Okay, fine, that's not the issue. I _know_ he's not a nightmare. He probably hasn't even _heard of_ the Lucedine Glade. It's just hard to think about anything else when I'm looking at them. _Plus_ Space is so closed off to _everybody_ that I can't get a great idea of what he's _actually_ like. He only _really_ talks to Viola."

"That's fair." Link got to his feet. "That should change soon though. It's hard to be in groups like ours and talk to just _one_ person. You'll figure him out eventually. Now come on, we should go find firewood like we said we would before they send out a search party."

Ravio followed his friend's lead, not _entirely_ comforted by his words, but he still felt _leagues_ better than he had. It was like a weight he hadn't realized he'd been carrying had just been lifted off his shoulders. Not only that, but given the conversation they’d just had, Ravio was pretty sure that Link _really_ understood that he could stop shooting people death glares once they got back, and ideally they could avoid getting Viola riled up any more than he already was.

As he and Link returned to camp, some of his apprehension returned since everyone turned to them for a moment, but whatever tension Ravio imagined was broken when Link nudged his shoulder and said, “Just put that down in the firepit. I’ll get it from there.”

He obliged, but as he stood back up, Viola commented, “That’s not going to burn very well just like that. You have to position it right.”

“No, it’ll burn.” Link sounded _far_ more casual than Ravio expected. When he looked to Link again, Ravio’s eyes went wide at the sight of a red rod in his hands.

“Which one is that?”

Link smirked. “Don’t you recognize it? _You_ sold it to me.”

“So it’s the one you made a _public hazard_ after I did!”

The hero didn’t lose his grin as he shrugged, “Maybe,” and with a single wave, a spark of magic fell onto the wood. From that spark, a massive pillar of fire exploded up from the ring of stones that had enclosed the firepit, forcing many of the heroes closest to it to shield their eyes and shy away from the heat.

A moment later, the pillar died down to a normal fire - perhaps a bit larger than average, but nowhere near what it had been. From across the camp, Viola glared at Link and demanded, “Was that _necessary?”_

“It worked, didn’t it?”

“It could’ve _killed us-”_

“Frost, _relax.”_ The newest Lorulean recruit finally spoke up and put a hand on his brother’s shoulder and stopped him from getting up. “It’s fine. Quit making such a big deal about this before you make an ass of yourself.”

The disgusted and exasperated sound Viola made accompanied with his expression was enough to have Ravio stifling laughter - hoping to avoid getting his ire on _him._ Though Viola didn’t notice, Link certainly did, if the way his grin became more satisfied than smug was any indication.

People started dropping off shortly after that and, eventually, only a few were still awake, but they were all occupied with their own nighttime rituals. Link and Ravio were still sitting together next to the fire, where Ravio had _finally_ managed to relax. Quietly, so no one else would hear, he whispered, _“Thanks.”_

He didn’t get a verbal answer, just Link’s shoulder bumping against his own. For a split second, Ravio thought he might’ve been signalling him to be quiet about _everything_ that had just happened, but then he caught the smile on the hero’s face. No, he wasn’t mad.

Just glad to have a friend who _knew._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters for the Aesthetic. Also for the record, Legend was never impatient with Sketch when he was telling his story, he's just an unreliable narrator and he was nervous and making assumptions. theyre good bros guys. theyre BROS
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading! I hope you liked it!
> 
> ~~please talk to me about how much sketch knows about legends quests lmao i have OPINIONS~~


End file.
